Manchester United’s glory days securing the treble
By RAJNESH LINGAM
AFTER the national 7s team lost to the All Blacks Sevens team 19-5 in the Oceania Sevens in Auckland, I switched to football to cool my mind.
The side lost to Australia Selection 29-19 on Friday and the hosts inflicted more misery and pain as they came from behind to win the match and remain unbeaten.
Therefore, I put aside the disappointment of losing to the All Blacks Sevens backto-back and I watched the
1999 Champions League final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
That match remains my best memory from the glory days of the Red Devils. On May
26 1999, Manchester United and Bayern Munich battled each other in the UEFA Champions League final.
The Red Devils defeated the Bavarians at the Camp Nou in Barcelona and completed a historic treble (Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League) in the 1998-99 season. The Reds had already secured the Premier League title and FA Cup ahead of travelling to Barcelona on Concorde, with Bayern chasing their own Treble after coming out on top domestically in Germany.
The bigger picture was that United had not won the European Cup since the days of Sir Matt Busby in 1968. Much to his chagrin, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men had come up short on the continent, despite dominating at home by winning the Double for the first time in history in 1994 and repeating the feat in 1996. United and Bayern Munich were drawn together in the group of death, alongside Spanish champions Barcelona and Danish champions Brondby. The first meeting between United and Bayern ended in a 2-2 draw with Bayern drawing level in the dying minutes. Their next meeting saw the pair again play out a draw as the game finished 1-1. The result allowed Bayern to finish as group winners. United went through to the knockout stage as one of the two group runners- up with the best record. The Red Devils were without two of their best players- Roy Keane and Paul Scholes for the final. The duo missed out on the final due to suspension. With Keane out, goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was named as captain. Sir Alex Ferguson had originally considered selecting Ryan Giggs to join Nicky Butt in central midfield, but picked David Beckham. Giggs started on the right wing. United’s top two goal scorers, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, started. Teddy Sheringham, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Raimond Van Der Gouw, David May, Phil Neville, Wes Brown and Jonathan Greening were on the bench. The night, which eventually became one of United’s most memorable nights, didn’t start well as Bayern raced into the lead after six minutes when Mario Basler deceived Schmeichel from a free kick outside the box. Despite the bad start, United dominated possession. However, they failed to create any clear cut chances. United never got going into the game and survived two late scares in the second half when Bayern was denied by the woodwork. The score remained 1-0 till the start of stoppage time, when their two substitutes stepped up. Teddy Sheringham, who had scored just four goals until that point in the season, guided home Giggs’ shot from Beckham’s corner. The scores were level. United was buzzing as Ole Gunnar tapped in the winner in stoppage time and won United the trophy. The triumph capped off an amazing season for Sir Alex Ferguson men as they won their second Champions League title. Sir Ferguson’s tactical adeptness and substitutions won the day for the Red Devils. With the game drifting away from the English side, he introduced Solskjaer and Sheringham who eventually won United the crown. Those were the glory days of United! Today, all that remain of Manchester United are beautiful and fond memories.
The trophy cabinet remains empty!
RAJNESH LINGAM is a contributor to this newspaper. The views expressed are his and not necessarily of this newspaper or his employer.